Daily Yellowstone journal., 1887-08-20

he heard q wen known voice at the road
side, and pulled mp his horse.
GOOD heavens, major! You here, ana
hurtr" cried the captain, as he came close
to q prosrrate figure at the roadside.
"Yes, Milney, I'm here. For Gods
sake get me a drink OF water!" replied the
sufferer. And then went on eagerly:
SIS IL a retreat, captaini Have we lost il
alls Where are the ambulanocs and the
hospital trainss Are all these poor fell
lows to be left TO the enemyi Why, they
can't take care Of their own N this wilder
ness, let alons oursl II il cruel-it IL
horriblel Get me o drink, captain; get
me . drink That 10 all I shall ever want.
i shall not get away from here"
Capt Milney ~dismounted. He had o
few precious drops u water In his canteen
boarded for hour against his own
thirst. His friend, Maj. Gallon, he found
was shot in the breast-how badly could
not be told. He was quickly relieved SO
far as half q dozen swallows Of the life
giving water could do 1t.
"God bless you, Milneyf' he cried.
you've done me the last service I shall
receive in life. God bless you, my friendl
And now 60 on. You can't help these
poor fellows here, i know; you can't help
me any further. Go on with your regi-
ment and leave rs. But here, Milney,
take this letter, and when you are back In
Gods Ohio country give IL to Nina Clark,
and tell her that her promise made a man
of me when / was nigh desperation and
despair. Tell her, ! say God bless her for
itr'
s'Mina Clarkrn exclaimed Capt. Nil
ney, starting back. NINA Clark Is
there no mistaken I thought IL was"-
.No-no-Mina Clark. i can't tell you
now, Milney. I'm growing weak. Good
by, Milney-goodbyr'
II any inward trouble showed itself in
the captains face zone could see it in the
gloom. He was silent but an instant,
and then said slowly and firmly, but in .
greatly altered voice;
'Maj. Gallon, I'm going to put you on
my horse and forward You to Chattanooga.
You shall be your own messenger to Nina
Clark. You have something to live for,
and you will ivsi While lit does not
matter"
Had the major known that Capt. Mil
ney was himself ~wounded-a painful hurt
In the foot, NOT dangerous, but disabling
his protests might have been vigorous,
but they would not have swerved the cap
tain. As 1t was, the unexpected turn
seemed to give the major a new lease Of
life. In an instant he had resolved to live
he who a moment before had hidden
his friend goodby forever. Astride the
captains horse he seemed TO get yet
another lease of life, and all this stood
him in good stead. The troops, tired and
dispirited as they were, moved rapidly on
the road, and the majors horse kept pace
with them. Long before the night was
gone Maj. Gallon was safe in IN ambu-
lance and on the way to Chattanooga with
not a thought of anything but rest and
sleep.
And Capt. Mflneyf Why, the captain
Jared badly. He had already been too
much about on his injured foot, and it was
swollen and stir. He started to hobble
along after his men, but it went so hard
that in half an hour he gave it up and lay
down by the roadside, a mile or two be-
hind the rearmost Of the retreating
soldiers. . II seemed almost as If Mai.
Cations new life and spirit had been alb
stracted from the captains store, leaving
the latter ambitionless and despairing.
81 am whippedr' he said to himself, as
he lay down and gave up to WEAKNESS and
pain. ~ am whipped; but not by the
enemy back there. No; a woman did itr'
At daylight next morning Capt. Milney
wa a wounded prisoner of war, bound for
some southern military prison. II am
whipped" he said, a. on the night before,
and prepared as well as he could to take
it philosophically.
Seven or eight months afterward the
captain awoke n morning from the de-
lirium Of q long fever. He was In a hos
pital near Washington. When he first
became conscious things about him looked
almost as strange as the fantastic visions
of that dream haunted fever land from
which he had Just emerged. All things
strange, except-ahi except the female
figure at the side Of his cot. That was
familiar enough; 1t was Nina Clark. She
was reading, and he had been looking at
her and wondering dreamily for some
time before she turned her head and saw
that he was awake. Then he asked the
question that was uppermost in his mind.
' where is Major-Maj. Galtonr he
asked.
'Oh, Charley" she cried, glad tears
streaming from her eyes. "You are con-
scious again, thank God, You will get
well, dearl But the dreadful things you
have been saying while out Of Jour head.
The major is here, and comes in every
day to see you. But you must not talk
now, and ! must not talk to you. You
are to take q good sip Of this and then 20
to sleep. Not a word now-only, Charley,
IL anything is in your head about Maj.
Gallon and-and I-such a you've been
talking about In your fever, it's all a mis-
take, Charley-a cruel, cruel mistaken
Well, he found that out In the afternoon
of the same day when he saw Maj. Gallon
and his wife-his wife, who was not Nina
Clark. He discovered that Mina's prom
ise TO the major-that promise which had
so exalted the major and 30 wrecked the
c~aptain-was simply q promise to set
things right with Cations lady love, who
in his absence was being influenced by an
unworthy rival. Doing this service in
volved for Nina the sacrifice Of some
maiden pride and reserve, but at the ma
jor's urgent petition she did IL, and even
raised him TO the seventh heaven Of happy
anticipation by writing him her promise
70 deliver his girl safe into his arms when
ever he came home.
The captain came to think that he had
jumped at a conclusion too quickly, and
that a little faith in the girl whose solemn
troth he had would have saved him a trip To
Libby prison and saved him also the fever
which attacked him the very day his ex-
-l~--. -. .y.sI Nat tLaa xI.-.